


One Time Deal

by Thorki_ed



Series: Tumblr Requests/Norsekink Prompts [17]
Category: The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Badass!Loki, Crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-11
Updated: 2012-06-11
Packaged: 2017-11-07 12:10:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/431036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thorki_ed/pseuds/Thorki_ed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for this <a href="http://norsekink.livejournal.com/8802.html?thread=17965410#t17965410">norsekink prompt</a>:</p><p>tl;dr: Loki is dying, escapes Avengers medical facilities to pay Thanos a visit because he's the one fucking shit up, Thanos brutally turns him immortal (ick) and underestimates the power this gives Loki, who beats his ass and runs. Then Thanos faces the Avengers and they get some surprising help - and give surprising help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Time Deal

The Great War. A memory long celebrated during times of prosperity and happiness. By most, that is.

As Odin looked upon the child in Frigga's arms and prayed that the toddler may never face the horrors that he did. He was already grateful he was not present in the room that one winter day...

 

"Please! Stop! Stop!" Frigga cried, over and over again.

Odin had heard her from the halls and quickly flung the doors open to his own chamber. His beloved wife, with tears streaming down her face, was surrounded by three frost giants, one of them being Laufey.

"I told you to stay out of my realm, little king," he said in a deep voice tat gave Odin a chill down his spine. "I love my home greatly, and you've destroyed it. Let me give you a taste of what that feels like..." He tore off Frigga's clothing, leaving strips and bits of her dress.

"N-no!" Frigga said, choking on her tears.

"STOP! Laufey. Please. I would give you anything, I swear it," Odin tried to plead.

In a foreign tongue, Laufey commanded his company to restrain Odin so he may not interrupt. While they pinned his arms behind his back and forced him on his knees, Laufey pinned Frigga down and showed her what she had to deal with. The Jotuns were certainly the ones with bragging rights. Frigga seemed absolutely horrified, trashing her legs violently.

"p-please! It wo-won't even f-fit! Stop! Stop!" But Laufey was on this mission for one purpose, and one purpose only: revenge.

He tore through her until her cries deafened Odin and shattered his heart. The sight of blood from her stretch pained him, and what hurt the most was the unbearably painful look on Frigga's face as she looked to him for even the slightest bit of comfort he could give. But he couldn't give her any. He couldn't lessen the pain. He couldn't save her.

Hours after, when Laufey was finally done seeking his revenge, he and the others took off, not worrying in the slightest about the consequences. Odin would no better than to try anything again, and he was much too busy comforting his wife. He held her heaving, bloody figure to his chest, and stroked her hair softly. Hushing her and wiping her tears, they sat together in the thick silence. 

When they came nine months later, demanding the child Frigga tried to so desperately hide, they had no choice but to hand him over. Just out of the womb, he had barely begun to cry. Frigga weeped for the loss of her child, even one conceived in such a terrible manner still carried her blood, and her maternal instincts could never forget that. When Odin reminded her that Thor was just shy of two years of age, Frigga gave him a broken look, and he knew that nothing could fill the void of having her second child close to her.

Now, just a couple months later after the incident, Odin knew what he must do. He prepared a horse to Jotunheim to take what was stolen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Odin could not believe how things had turned out. When Thor and Loki grew up together, he wholeheartedly thought that he had made the right decision in taking Loki from the temple. Frigga was overwhelmed with joy, and kept Loki close to her at all times. She was the only one, besides Thor, that Loki ever truly smiled for a while. But that soon changed, and his lovely smile vanished for good.

He was driving himself to death at this rate, and Thor tried all he could to help, but failed. Odin and Frigga desperately tried their own wards and magics, but nothing could save Loki. Nobody could save Loki, except himself.

Over the years, his mental state deteriorated bit by bit to the point where his manic behaviour got him into serious trouble - Chitauri trouble. It was only a countdown now until Frigga knew her son would be lost to her forever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The machines hooked up to Loki are beeping steadily, which is an improvement from the sporadic beeping and flat-lining that the Avengers had seen after Loki crashed into the ground, sending earthquakes that could felt across the globe.

Nobody had even touched him. The Hulk confirms to be the last person to have seen him, and he insisted that he practically buried Loki into the floor at Stark Towers. ("Thanks for the Loki-shaped dent. Really goes with my office decor," Tony had said). But then Loki came falling out of the sky, leaving a trail of embers and smoke. The catastrophic head dive into the concrete sidewalk sent sizzling smoke into the air, and when they reached him, he was unconscious, sweating up a storm, and scalding hot to touch. He sure knew how to run a fever.

"Any news?" Bruce says, slipping in beside Thor, who was staring into the glass concealment.

"Nay," Thor responds. He hasn't looked this haggard and tired since crash-landing into Earth himself.

Despite going head-to-head in combat, Thor had never wished his brother head. The family would be devastated, especially Mother. Seeing Loki in this state reduced Thor's mind to mush - he couldn't think properly and couldn't do anything but pray to the gods for his brother's swift recovery.  
_________________________________________________________

As Loki finally stabilized, he kept his eyes shut but began surveying his surroundings with his other senses. He could make out the human Hulk and Thor making small conversation to his left, and Nick Fury overhead. Four agents surrounded the walls of whatever confinement they put him in.

I have to get out.

He sensed all the needles they had embedded in his flesh and magically willed them out, ever so slowly, and made the machines loop the last two minutes of data, when his heart was beating normally and blood pressure unalarming. Now he needed a distraction, but had to restore some of his energy before being able to use his full magic. There was something hindering his flow of magic - it was unsettling and worrisome as he had never felt this before, but he went on pretending he was asleep, waiting for the right opportunity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki has tracked the guard's shift changes down to the minute. It takes two of them exactly 3 minutes to grab the next set of 4 guards, leaving two behind. There was never a moment alone for Loki, especially not during the day. His damn pesky brother was always hovering. His best time to escape was the 4am shift change. His plan is delayed several times, but Loki does not lose hope. He weaves the needles back in his veins before anyone can notice he's woken up. He sleeps properly for the first time in days, deciding he would need his rest.  
__________________________________________________

"He is becoming less responsive to our testing and doesn't seem to be reacting to any medication... I've tried everything," Bruce explains. Tony is hunched over the dining table they're seated at, going over Bruce's calculations (knowing he wouldn't find any mistakes).

"What can we do then?" Thor is almost afraid to ask, his food untouched.

"Well... There's one last test. But it involves me taking a piece of your brother's heart. Literally."

"Heart?"

("You sure he even has one?" Clint yells from the couch in the next room). Thor throws an apple at his head, which induces a concussion.

Thor thinks long and hard about this. Loki would absolutely hate him for it. But he needed to be saved. Thor didn't feel as though he had a choice. He couldn't even bring himself to give Bruce the go-ahead; he just gave a very weak nod.

Bruce sends him an apologetic look before saying, "You're just doing what's right for him." He starts to set up for the operation, with far too many tools that looked like weapons in Thor's opinion.  
__________________________________________________

"Loki, my brother!" A fifteen-year-old Thor shouted as he extended his hand over the cliff where Loki hung. "Please, take my hand."

But Loki had never been more afraid at that time. He didn't trust anyone. But, Thor... Thor was the closest to someone trustworthy. So Loki closed his eyes, and reached out his little thirteen-year-old hand. Thor's grubby hands were warm and rough when they closed around Loki's. He hauled Loki up, which wasn't too difficult due to Loki's slim frame. Loki's heart was thumping with such intensity, he was afraid it would burst open and leap from his ribcage. Thor noticed it right away, and placed his hand over his brother's breast, holding it there until Loki had regained his breath. It was the single most comforting notion Loki had ever received.

__________________________________________________

"Will he be in any pain?" Thor asked.

"No. I've given him extra sedatives. He won't feel a thing. In fact, he's probably sleeping sounder than he's ever slept before, dreaming of his happiest moments or something," Bruce said to make Thor feel better. "Ready?"

Thor nodded, stepping backwards to grant them space. Stark nodded, tools in hand. Bruce looked above and saw give a small nod of approval to go ahead.

They were going for Loki's heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thor's only job was to monitor the steady beeping of Loki's heart monitor, and Thor didn't blink. He willed each line to correctly fluctuate, swearing his own heart's beating could have broken the machine. Thor was sweating with nervousness, worried Loki would either not survive the procedure, or that Loki would survive and come after his own heart. 

Bruce and Tony were just about finishing, beckoning for Thor to hand them the silver tray which would hold the most precious thing in the world to Thor. With a sickening squish, a piece of Loki's heart stared at him. Thor shuddered at the thought that his poor broken brother had yet another piece of him - of his heart - taken away from him.

___________________________________________________________

Loki's mind was a awake - and aware. Aware of a probing sensation above his heart. And it was cold. Much, much colder than normal. Loki tried to open his eyes, but found that he couldn't.

What is this?! his mind hissed in anger. He tried to move, flex his fingers, summon his magic, but nothing worked. He was fully paralyzed. So Loki sent his mind wandering - projected his magic throughout the room to find Bruce and Tony much too close to him for his preference. And there was his idiot brother standing just a bit away. And holding something that emitted familiarity - what was that? Loki concentrated on the patterns of life Thor held in his hands... but couldn't quite place his mind on it. It was too familiar, he should know it, but the thought kept escaping him.

Instead, he was doomed to endure whatever cold madness was happening until he could regain control of his body, and the thickened magic in his blood started to flow again. From what he could tell, the sun was not strong above the sky, and waning. His best guess was late evening, and he mentally prepared himself for the inevitable escape.  
____________________________________________________________

When Bruce and Tony finally wrapped up and mended Loki's surgical cut, they took the sample of his heart and headed straight for the laboratory. Thor was left to sit by his brother's side and hold the sickly pale skin of his brother's hand.  
____________________________________________________________

Idiot. Do. Not. Hold. My. Hand.  
____________________________________________________________

Thor soon fell asleep, his warm, gruffy cheek against the silky cool smoothness of Loki's hand. Loki had already slipped the medication out, making sure the machines would still beep accordingly.

As 4am rolled around, Thor was still snoring, and two of the guards made their rotation. As the door closed, the entire room was left in cold darkness.

Except for the brilliant shine from Loki's magic-filled luminous eyes that had snapped open.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was time. Three minutes. He quickly magicked the tubes and wires out of his skin, making sure the machines were still showing signs of life. He replaced his hand underneath Thor's with a bundle of the sheets before swinging his long legs over the side of the bed.  
The guards quickly focused on him, but before they could call for help Loki had sealed their mouths. When teleporting failed, he settled for shifting into a small bird, which carried him to the top of his glass cage before turning into a spider, crawling out the air vents. After navigating his way out of the wretched headquarters, he took flight.  
_________________________________________________________

"Avengers, assemble!" Nick Fury's voice came over the intercom. "Loki's escaped"

Hey, that's MY line, Stark thought bitterly. He quickly suited up, but was still the last one there. The scene in front of him was one that he would like to forget.  
Loki's cell was smashed to pieces, the bed laid in bits and chunks of metal scattered around the cell, the machines Loki had been hooked up had be squashed flat.

"Did you have too much fun last night?" Tony asked Bruce, who rolled his eyes.

"He has escaped! Again. And under my watch," Thor said with heated anger that turned into hurt. "I have failed yet again." He slumped down on the floor.

"It seems Loki is quite the crafty one. Even with the cell lined with teleportation-prevention technology, we seem to have left some of his other talents unaccounted for." Nick informs the group.

"Other talents?" Tony asks, hesitantly. He didn't like surprises.

Nick raised an eyebrow at the guard who was on shift, "He transformed, into a bird or something." When Tony gave him a distrusting look, the other guard jumped in as well, "It's true! I saw it with my own eyes. And he conjured up duct tape out of nowhere to slap over our mouths!"

Tony facepalmed, but Thor got that look in his eyes. That I'm-going-to-hunt-for-Loki look, and the Avengers knew that look all too well.

"We'll come with you," Steve offered.

Thor tried to protest, but Natasha cut him off. "Come on Thor, we know what you're thinking. We're going with you."

"If you don't take us with you, we'll follow you anyway," Clint says, because Clint's really good at being a stalker.

Thor knows that too.

He reluctantly agrees, and the six of them head for the equipment room as Nick Fury screams at their backs that they are breaking SHIELD protocols.  
_______________________________________________________

As Loki is soaring above a dense forest in his raven form, he feels a cold wave through his body - a glitch. The exact same glitch that he felt before he blacked out to awake in the hands of the Avengers. Uh oh.

His form disintegrates, and a hospital-robe Loki plummets through the air, limbs flailing.

Landing with an enormous crash that should have broken all the bones in his body, Loki grunts in discomfort. His panic has caused him to break out in sweats and his breaths to come at an uneven pace. He takes a few moments to recuperate and collect his thoughts. Why has my magic been depleted so easily? He lets his mask fade away, and feels a comforting coolness over his skin, welcoming the tattoos along his body for once, and closes his ruby eyes as he regains his breath.

When Loki awakens a few moments later, he feels his insides on fire. The burning spreads through his veins like poison. He trashes out, and screams in agony. His Jotun skin is burning, and spots of flesh along his arms are seemingly melting away. He summons all the power he has left in him to switch to his Aesir body. Yet, in his exhaustion after the transformation - his magic escapes him. The control Loki has always had flares away from him as blades of fire cut the trees around him, sending them up in flames. 

Unable to summon water to put out the flames, Loki runs. Runs for his life. Runs for the mountains, to find Thanos.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki can almost feel Death chasing him, nipping at his heels as he runs swiftly through the forest and muddy terrains of the hills. But he has one thing on his bucket-list: Fuck. Shit. Up.

Specifically, he intends to go out with style, and he's bringing Thanos with him.  
How dare that fool mess with my magic.  
Nobody messes with Loki's magic.

He runs for the next two hours, never slowing down.  
_______________________________________________________

Thor points out something up ahead to Iron Man.

"Hold up guys. I think I've got something. 4 minutes north." Tony's voice comes over their communications line.

"Copy that," comes Steve's voice, who is leading the rest of them.

"Iron Man! Thor!" a firefighter calls from below.

"What's the sitch, guys?" Tony asks.

"S'okay for now. It was a huge fire, but we don't see any sign of what started it. No fireplace, the ground ain't even scorched. It's like someone lit matches and threw them at every individual tree."

"Well that's... odd. You guys handling it okay? The rest of the Avengers are close behind us."

"Nah, we got this. I'm sure you've got Avengers stuff to deal with." With a smile, the fireman resumes putting out the diminished flames.

"Iron Man..." Thor starts off, but Tony knows where that's going.

"Yeah. I know. We're close. Let's keep going, he couldn't have gotten far."

They take to the skies again, telling the Avengers their chase is close. By air, they're much faster than Loki, gaining distance quickly.  
_____________________________________________________________

By the time Loki reaches the highest peak of the mountain range, he's worn out. But he knows that Thanos is around from the obvious destruction to the mountainsides, and it causes his magic to flare inside him.

"Thanos! Show yourself!" Loki hisses.

"Puny God, what do you - oof!" Thanos is knocked backwards into the mountains, causing tremors in the ground.

"I've got a bone to pick with you," Loki snarls before moving in, hands glowing with power that he shouldn't have in his state.  
______________________________________________________________

"Guys, the ground's rumbling," Steve says.

Thor and Tony exchange a look before quickly scanning the area around them.

"We have to regroup, we're getting close," Steve commands, being sensible. 

"But -"

"No buts, Thor." Steve is firm when Steve needs to be, so they make the rendezvous point at the edge of the mountain range.  
___________________________________________________________

"Do it! Kill me!" Loki barely manages as he's crushed in Thanos' massive hand. "Let Death see my pretty face so she can lust after me -rnhg"

Thanos' grip was bone-crushing, and Loki's life was quickly fading.

"You will never lay your eyes on my Death!" With his hand still tightly clasped around Loki's body just below his chest, he brings Loki up to his and sinks his teeth into Loki's chest.  
___________________________________________________________

Upon landing, Tony informs them that some mountains are missing their peaks - no doubt from unnatural causes. They follow the path of broken mountains until they hear a very, very chilling cry of pain.

"Brother!" Thor calls out before lifting off, leaving the Avengers behind, scurrying after him.

When they arrive, the scene is horribly ugly. Loki was merely a speck in the teeth of his enemy, whose red eyes glaring angrily at his prey.

"NO!" bellowed Thor with tears in his eyes.

Thanos spat something into his free hand - Loki's heart. Loki lay lifeless in Thanos' other palm, blood leaking and spilling over the edges of Thanos' fingers.

Thanos closed his hand around Loki's heart and roared ferociously before beams of light shot through the gaps of his fingers. then he did something unexpected - he rammed it back into Loki's chest. "You will never meet her before I, weakling. Never."

Then came a blinding flash of light, forcing the Avengers to twist and turn away, and when they turned back - they couldn't believe their eyes - but Loki was alive, and he was levitating.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh Thanos, how can I ever repay you for this kindness?" came Loki's hauntingly sweet voice. Then he blasted Thanos out of the air before flying upwards out of the Avengers's sight.

"What... Just... Happened," Clint asked in disbelief. None of them knew what to say.

"Thanos is of evil, he is the Mad Titan. I know not what he could want with my brother, but I suspect they met during Loki's time of disappearance," Thor said as calmly as possible even though he was still trembling from what he had witnessed. "This causes great alarm, Thanos is a crafty one, his powers are great. I am not sure if he can be defeated or -"

Thanos slammed into the ground, causing a concentrated earthquake that almost made the Avengers lose their footing.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Tony says.

Streams of green and gold magic were pushing Thanos further and further into the ground until there was a large crater.

"How dare you mess with my powers," Loki chided, using one hand gripping the air, which pulled a chunk of a nearby mountain out and throwing it into Thanos who grunted.

"How dare you remove my very heart!" Another chunk of mountain flew on top of him.

"How dare you anger the God of MISCHIEF!" using two hands, he rips an entire mountain out of the ground to slam onto Thanos, who was effectively buried. 

Loki screamed in frustration, summoning a bolt of lightning from the sky to strike down upon the mound so hard that everything in cracked in half. It revealed Thanos who laid there, battered and broken, blood leaking from various cuts and lacerations.

"Puny God my ass," Loki sneers before vanishing.

The Avengers are left gaping at the empty space where Loki had just been.

Thanos was starting to rise.

"Get out, get out, GET THE FUCK OUT!" Tony screamed at them.

They were already turning on their heels and fleeing the scene.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki mentally puts a tick next to "Fuck. Shit. Up." and realizes that his bucket-list is no longer a bucket-list. 

The magic flowing his veins was incredible. After fleeing the scene with ease, he found himself in a serene clearing, surrounded by trees, hidden from the world, yet he felt no need to recuperate as he thought he would. Whatever Thanos had did, it was surprisingly having a good effect on Loki. His mind never felt sharper, magic never stronger, and body never healthier. Former lacerations from the green brute who used him as a sledgehammer on Stark's floor were gone, and that wretched scar from one of Thor's accidental strikes on his back disappeared even though he had had that scar for almost 7 years.

Grinning wickedly, he decided to make the most of this new development, and spent the rest of the day testing his powers and their limits for his return to Asgard that evening.  
____________________________________________________________

"Okay. What. Even." Clint said looking at Thor with the most bizarre look in his eyes. "I'm freaking out, Thor. Freaking out. Freaking. OUT." He widened his eyes to resemble an owl for emphasis. 

Natasha put a firm, comforting hand on his shoulders, "We're all freaking out. Some more maturely than others, but I'm pretty sure Thor didn't see this coming either, alright?"

Thor was grateful for the space to think for a moment. Thanos? On Earth? Why? And why did he turn Loki immortal? Who was the woman that Thanos want to see before Loki? He shook his head in frustration.

"My friends, I am afraid I cannot answer your questions for I do not know them myself."

The Avengers were anxious, disappointed, and overall very, very afraid.

Tony started out logically, "Loki was #1 on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Most Wanted List, but seeing him just laying in Thano's hand was terrifying to me because it didn't look like Loki was much of a match -"

"-Until after his heart was speared out by Thanos' long ass fangs and polished by some Light of Immortality or something while he squished it in his hand-"

"-Yes, thank you Clint for that, until that. Now, Thor, weren't you saying something about not knowing whether we could take him? Because Loki sure did. Should we consider Thanos a bigger priority while your brother has scampered off somehwere?"

"Loki is strong, but I did not know he could be strong enough for Thanos. Even I am not a match for Thanos... He has immense powers. The thing that troubles me is that Loki must have fled to see Thanos, and I cannot understand why."

"To die?" Clint offered. Everyone shot daggers at him - everyone except Natasha who shot her fist into his arm instead.

"Ow! Jesus. Hey, stop staring at me like that. You all heard him too making his emo speeches about dying with dignity and that he didn't want our help because he wanted to choose his methods and time of death. Well, didn't that look like choosing to you? I mean -"

Thor gave him a deathly stare, eyes icy. Clint shut up immediately.

"Thor, is there someone who might have answers?" Steve asks, gently.

"Captain! You are magnificent!" Thor boomed as he pulled Steve in a crushing hug, which was gingerly returned.

"Thank you?" he squeaked with compressed lungs, wincing.

"Heimdall will answer me! Heimdall can see all!" Thor was so excited by this that he took off without telling the Avengers when they could expect him back.

"So what if that big Thanos guy comes around when Thor's away?" Clint said, earning him another round of cold stares (and a punch). "Ow! HEY! I'm just being smart about this! STOP PUNCHING ME, DAMMIT."

Natasha didn't flinch when he yelled at her.

Bruce sighed, "He's got a fair point. Preparations? Anyone?" Though he was staring at Stark.

"... I'm working on it." was Tony's defeated response.

"Work faster." Clint's voice shook slightly, which only mirrored how everyone else was feeling about the situation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"STEVE, MOVE YOUR STAR-SPANGLED ASS, RIGHT NOW!" Tony's frantic screams came over the communication lines.

Steve is a mere speck on the ground, dancing away from the giant swirling energy pool that is freakin' Thanos.

The city was a goddamn mess. Thanos had literally uprooted everything in sight. With Thor taking his sweet time in Asgard, the Avengers had no clue what they were dealing with, and it seemed that none of them were even making a dent - not even the Hulk. That's what scared Tony the most.

"Widow, status?"

"Nothing I can't handle," her voice crackled on the other end of the line, but he could hear the grimace in her voice. She was most likely half-dead somewhere.

"Hawkeye?" 

"Not making any progress, down to my last few arrows, and I've broken my leg. Come fetch me when you're done please and thanks."

Tony sighed.

"Green Lantern?"

"Hulk smash you." Good enough, I suppose, Tony thinks.

"Cap?"

Silence.

"Cap? You there?"

"I think... my shield's broken..." his voice sounded like a seven-year-old. Uh-oh.

_Goddammnit Thor, we need you_

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, on Asgard:

"Are you sure you can't see her?" Loki asks Heimdall.

"Nothing."

"What good are you?"

Heimdall chooses not to answer Loki, instead choosing to play with the idea of throwing him off the Bifrost again. He is after all still upset with Loki for freezing him in a block of ice. But for the sake of Asgard, Midgard, and all the other realms, he has agreed to help Loki in stopping Thanos. Unfortunately, he could not see Death.

_"Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!"_

Loki froze. Thor's voice.

Heimdall followed his orders, allowing Thor to join them in the Bifrost dome.

The brothers stared at each other.

"Brother," Thor started, inching forward.

"I'll be leaving now," Loki said curtly.

"Where will you be going?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I have a certain purple-skinned bastard to hunt down."

"You cannot go after Thanos by yourself, brother."

"Really? I seem to remember your useless bunch of friends back in the mountains. I think I did just fine on my own."

"Allow me to assist you regardless!"

Loki scoffed at the idea. "You would only be in my way."

"Then allow me to be in your way, as a shield. Even you cannot deny the luxury of a personal shield so willing to die for you. What harm could I do?"

"Thor, how desperate of you - "

"She is on Midgard," Heimdall suddenly interrupted.

"Midgard? What could she possibly..." Loki trailed off mid-sentence.

"Who?" Thor asked looking like a confused puppy.

"Back to Midgard we go. Now, if you will good Heimdall."

Without hesitation, Heimdall beamed them back to Earth, where upon landing, Loki grabbed Thor's hand and transported them to the heart of New York.

The sight was devastating.  
Buildings flattened, cars upturned and smoking, black clouds above. 

A nightmare.

"Thanos. He wants to see Death, apparently they're in love. Some weird, sick, twisted love. He'll destroy the city for her."

"That is why he brought you back from the dead? So you would not meet her first?"

"Of course. Have you seen how ugly he is?

He teleports them closer to the concentrated mass of black energy.

"THOR!" Tony screams from his flipped-up Iron Man face plate. "AND... Loki?"

"Good day, Stark."

"Yeah. Good? GOOD? Do you see this thing? What the hell is that thing?! WHAT THE HELL IS IT?!" Tony was freaking out. Tony had not had a drink for over 24 hours. Tony's suit is completely decimated. Tony was freaking out beyond freaking out.

Thor looked at his brother pleadingly, "Loki it is now or never. Please, let us help you."

"I do not need your blasted help, fool! Can't you see? I am superior. It is _**you**_ and your pathetic friends who need help. My help." he snarled.

"You are right. I am sorry, brother."

"Stop calling me that! I will bury your friends six feet under!"

Thor snapped. "Fine! _Half-brother_."

Loki looked at him blankly. The truth irked him, Frigga's pain irked him, Laufey's damn selfish acts irked him. He hated his blood, willed it to be another way every day of his life. He hated it. Hated it. Yet for some reason, he did not flinch at this comment like he normally would have.

Thor immediately softened, "Loki... I am-"

"Shut up, already! You infuriating halfwit. Do you even _have_ half a wit?" 

"Loki," Tony's voice called to him.

Loki froze, but turned to face the mortal.

"You are by the far the most capable person here, and you know you're the only who can bring this guy down. Sorry Thor, but as much as you're mighty and hammer-wielding, I've seen the Hulk being thrown into more buildings than I can count, and even he's down. We need Loki. We so desperately need Loki."

It was completely unlike Tony to be so pleading or fond of Loki, but nonetheless, it softened Loki. Just a tad.

"Consider this a one time deal." He placed his hands over Tony's armour and muttered a few words under his breath. His hands shot ripples of energy that Tony could feel underneath armour. It took less than a minute, but Tony realized he regained function of his suit - and most of the damage was gone. 

"Control yourself. I've given you the slightest bit of magical firepower. Your talking suit will tell you more." With that, he vanished.

"JARVIS?" Tony asks, confused.

"LOKI'S HERE, HE'S -" Clint's voice stops. A moment later he returns "Uh, false alarm. I think he's helping actually?" Clint admires the new arrows in his quiver, the tips glowing a faint green. "He's turned my arrows all magicky and stuff." He doesn't bother keeping the glee out of his voice because Clint loves new toys.

"HULK -" pause. "Hulk no smash. Hulk like." Before Tony could ask what fancy things Loki has done for him, he sees the Hulk leaping off the roof of a building - three times his normal size, his fists glowing.

 

"MY SHIELD'S NOT BROKEN ANYMORE!!!!!" Steve shouts, causing everyone to flinch as their earpieces screeched with feedback. ("Let go of me!" they can hear Loki say) "YAY!!!" Now he sounds like a five-year-old.

"He just gave me ten packages of glowing green bullets... Wait a minute. HEY, HOW DOES HE KNOW WHAT GUNS I USE?" Natasha says.

Thor is smiling - truly smiling. He is whipping through the air, hurtling Mjolnir at the approaching Thanos, and the Avengers come back with a second wave of Loki-enhanced weaponry. This time, they actually make a difference.

Loki reappears by his side, levitating gracefully.

"Brother, I - my friends and I - we all appreciate your help. Thank you, sincerely."

"Save it. Like I said, one time deal. If it helps me do less of the work, so be it. I just need him out of my way."

"Is it something to do with what he did back in the mountains?"

"Yes."

"You will not tell me?"

"No."

"Brother... please."

Loki throws up his hands to form a green dome around them as Thanos' lightning-rod magic deflects.

"Because he's stolen from me. And in order to get it back, I need him dead."

"What has he stolen?"

"None of your business." He shoots beams of a sick, poisonous purple, exploding upon impact with Thanos' chest. The rest of the Avengers are hurtling themselves in combat, slowly driving Thanos back.

"What has he stolen, brother?" Thor's voice is more tender, laced with concern.

"My everything." Loki says deadpan.

He flies forward, throwing balls of energy at Thanos in an unrelenting manner. Each blow hisses when it reaches Thanos' skin, the smell of burning flesh filling the air.

Thor looks after him incredulously.

After two hours, the Avengers are too tired to carry on. They're assembled alright. On the sidewalk. Slumped against each other, panting, bruised, and coated with grime and blood. Thor is the only one still in the air, but even he has slowed down.

Thanos is on his knees at last, but he keeps fighting, exchanging blow for blow with Loki.

"Enemy number one, meet enemy number two. Do our jobs for us," Tony says jokingly, but not all that jokingly.

"Who's number one and who's number two?" Steve asks.

".... I've yet to figure that out."

Loki manages a devastating blow against Thanos, sending him rearing back in pain.

"Loki's number one," Tony confirms.

Thanos uproots a skyscraper, hurtling it at Loki, enchanting it with super speed and a red blinking light which usually meant - 

BOOM

Upon catching Loki, it explodes, covering him debris as Loki falls out of the air.

"Nope. Thanos. Thanos is definitely number one."

The rubble starts to shift slightly. Then the ground rumbles, and all of a sudden the pieces of fallen building are surrounding Loki as his lips move furiously, binding each piece with superior magic. They glow a pale blue and then he launches piece after piece at Thanos, some exploding, some burning, some freezing him, some binding him. And as he is pelted with each piece, he takes more and more backwards steps.

"Loki. Final answer. Jesus, when did he learn to do that?"

"Tony?" Natasha says wearily

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With Thanos contained, the Avengers turn to Loki, who is lying on a stretcher refusing all the medical attention, Thor looming overheard trying to persuade him. His hand was upon Loki's chest, above his heart. 

Loki's face was still twisted with anger, even though he got his revenge.

"Have you been given what has been stolen from you?" Thor asks.

"I told you it was none of your business!" Loki snapped, pushing his hand away. 

"Wait, he stole from you?" Steve asks as if that's the most preposterous in the world, because he can't seem to believe anyone could steal.

"What did he steal?" Clint asks, looking as if he was ready to bring Thanos around and kill him again.

"Doesn't matter, go away," Loki said stubbornly, but his voice was filled of defeat.

"Think of it as... a reimbursement," Tony proposes. "We can try to help you get whatever was stolen. We owe it to you at the very least."

The rest of them nodded their heads. It's not everyday your lives are saved by an enemy. Thor's smile is more blinding than the sun.

"I don't know what he stole."

The Avengers looked at each other before looking back at Loki.

"Sorry, I'm a pain, I know, but how do you know he stole something from you if you don't know what it is?" Tony asks.

"He has altered me. It does not feel right."

"Yeah about that... He kind tore out your heart and blinded us all with light before stuffing it back in your chest," Clint says, despite the sharp glares of everyone for his bluntness. "Kudos on surviving that, by the way," he adds.

"I see." Loki mulls this over for a while. "I suppose that would explain everything."

Upon having six pairs of curious eyes on him, he sighs. "I do not feel. I feel nothing. There is no remorse, not that there usually was, but there is not even anger and rage. There is no sadness, no happiness, I am a shell void of any characteristics that made me as I was. My magic is controlled by something I do not understand where as before it was fuelled by emotions. I was strongest when I was harbouring the most hatred, which was easily done considering who my brother was," he shoots Thor a dirty look, and Clint covers his mouth to keep from laughing at that last bit.

The rest of them understand the madness behind Loki's desperate need to bring Thanos down now, but they still didn't know how to fix this. A huge thud behind them caused them to turn around and see Bruce laying on the ground, unHulked out and stirring. 

"whatdimiss?" he says groggily. 

"Big fight with purply guy, Loki won it all for us and saved our hides but turns out Thanos stole his heart and now he doesn't have feelings." Tony summarizes.

Loki shoots him a glare.

"I know you're not mad at me," Tony says cheekily. 

"Don't push it, Stark."

"Well does it have to do with your heart? Being turned into... whatever it was turned into?"

"Yes, we've established that. I thought you were supposed to be smarter when you weren't green," Loki sneers. 

"If you let us perform a small study... we could see if there's any way to reverse it?"

"No. You think I would let you meddle with me while I lay unconscious as you poke and prod around in my - " he stops mid-sentence.

He understands everything now.

He remembers.

Slowly, he pushes his words out, "You've already done so... It was you. You took a piece of me as well."

The strange familiar energy in Thor's hands that day... His energy. His proper energy.

"Give it back to me."

"Um..." Bruce hesitates.

"MY HEART. GIVE IT BACK TO ME!" His voice caused the earth to tremble.

"Okay, okay, let's just... get back to the lab, okay? We'll get you your feelings back, " Bruce says throwing his hands up in surrender.

"Hey Loki, consider this a one time deal, " Tony says winking.

Ignoring him completely, Loki plows forth in true Loki fashion. "When we return, you will give me my blasted heart back and I will mesh it with the immortal one I have in my chest, fusing it with magic so that I may regain what I once had, and then you mortals will see to it that I have plenty of undisturbed rest and sufficient sustenance and no interruptions. Furthermore, my idiot brother will be kept from hovering around me as I perform this delicate procedure and I will only admit you - he points to Stark - and you - he points to Bruce - because you seem to be the only two eligible for the medical work and you two - he points to Natasha and Clint - will deposit the remaining pieces of magic-woven weaponry I have given you because I refuse to let my power go to waste. That will be all."

He promptly turns on his heels and boards the helicarrier, nodding curtly to the confused looking guards.

"Sassy." Tony says, following suit. "I like it."

They shrug and follow, because hey, what's the harm in a one time deal?


End file.
